JohnBoy: This is a lousy game to have as representative of white's chances in a Bg5 gruenfeld. Seirawan does nothing at all but wait for Kasparov. K tries to win from a drawn position and ends up losing.

Riverbeast: Yes, Kasparov was done in by a 'win at all costs' mentality. It seems very often in chess, the most dangerous position is a slightly better position (or a position you think is slightly better)...you don't want to give the guy a draw, and very often you end up pressing too hard and losing.

A.G. Argent: Yeah, I agree that with all those rook moves on the 1st and 2nd ranks (lost count at 18 or so) Seirawan was indeed just vamping and pushing wood, waiting for K. to show himself. Not too pretty or imaginative but, I suppose, against G. Kasparov, a W is a W.

wweiss: Phenomenal endgame play by Seirawan! Kasparov can play a sequence that leads to him being a rook up w/ 62...d2, but he gets mated. 62...d2 63.g7 c2 64. g8Q! cxd1Q 65. Qc8+ Kd5 66. Qd7+ Ke5 67. Qd6#

whiteshark: <Riverbeast: Yes, Kasparov was done in by a 'win at all costs' mentality. It seems very often in chess, the most dangerous position is a slightly better position (or a position you think is slightly better)...you don't want to give the guy a draw, and very often you end up pressing too hard and losing.

An opportunistic 'win' for Seirawan, but more of a loss by Kasparov.>

All true. Kasparow's (fresh world champion at the time) desperate winning attempts have to be seen in connection with England's 4:0 win vs Iceland in the same 8th round. England took over the lead.

Finally USSR won the good medal with a 4:0 last round win vs Poland*, being 0,5 board points ahead of England team.

BwanaVa: My guess...White has as good a position as he can get. If he tries to break through, he opens holes for black to penetrate and suddenly the black bishop has a diagonal to operate on. So he marks time with his rooks, essentially passing and daring Kasparov to force the issue and accept the consequences. The comments above about the disadvantages of a small edge, plus the burdens of "having to win" in team competitions, are right on point.

perfidious: <eightbyeight> et al: There was nothing positive White could undertake; all he could do was mark time, awaiting any active tries by Kasparov.

<JohnBoy> Kasparov's energetic play in this game neutralised any pretence of a White initiative. This line, beginning with 5.Bg5 and 8.Nf3, was my primary choice against the Gruenfeld for over twenty years, even against strong GMs. It bears similarities to the Exchange QGD, though I have doubts now over whether it really offers White much. The last game I played this, Victor Mikhalevski annihilated me in 2001.

serenpidity.ejd: This game is entitled: HOW I WON WITHOUT A FIGHT.
This is one example of a game where one player is only playing for a draw and yet gets a bonus when his opponent pushes his luck too far.

diceman: <serenpidity.ejd: This game is entitled: HOW I WON WITHOUT A FIGHT.
This is one example of a game where one player is only playing for a draw and yet gets a bonus when his opponent pushes his luck too far.>

Could also be entitled: KASPAROV LOST.

… but guess that would be too pedestrian for Kasparov’s fans,
we need to make it Seriwan’s fault.

"Playing for a draw" when you think your opponent might overpress and give you winning chances is a perfectly valid strategy when one really wants to win a game. You have to know the temperament of your opponent.

AnalyzeThis: Another way of saying the same thing is that a secret of chess is not to try too hard. In the NFL they call that "take what the defense gives you". Kasparov for the most part put up his usual strong defense, so you don't see Seirawan going for the win until late in the game.

Everett: I think Kasparov's 9..Qd6 put the early 9.b4 under a cloud. In later iterations, Seirawan and others would play 9.e3 and wait for a better opportunity to play the minority attack on the q-side. Still, there seems to be nothing special for White in this line.

perfidious: <Everett> Haven't seen anything to change my view of 8.Nf3; two years ago in an online blitz game, I tried 8.Qd2, but after 8....h6 9.Nf3 exd5, White doesn't even get the assorted tactical chances which can arise after 8....exd5 9.Qe3+. This variation should promise Black full equality and the two bishops are a long-term advantage.

solskytz: The way I understand it, the Nc5 was a guarantee against losing the game for white.

The knight couldn't be exchanged without giving black something to worry about - the protected passed pawn.

Black had one of his own throughout the game, to be sure... but it was impossible to bring any further black forces to support it.

GM Seirawan certainly played the R maneuvers banking on an obvious draw and waiting for Kasparov to either acquiesce, or go crazy, which he did. It was pretty obvious that black, from his attacking position on the a-file, had no answer to the advance of the g-pawn near the end. Kasparov was simply gambling.

This situation, of sitting at a dead drawn position against a player two classes your senior, is a familiar one. You sit there doing nothing, with a calm poker face, and watch as the other guy strains and strains, thinks and thinks, reddens... and ultimately acts against common sense and good judgment, takes one risk too many, and just loses.

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